Baby Brothers
by Stormyskies89
Summary: Being a big sister is never easy. Particularly when you have to not just look after your baby brothers but also need to make sure you can live up to your people's expectations of a princess.


**Title:** Baby Brothers

**Summary:** Being a big sister is never easy. Particularly when you have to not just look after your baby brothers but also need to make sure you can live up to your people's expectations of a princess.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own The Hobbit.

**A/N:** NO FLAMES! Not accepted.

* * *

Fíli was the first. He was little and slightly pink, but the tuft of golden hair that sat atop his little head was adorable and when he blew bubbles in his saliva as he looked up at his older sister she giggled as they burst.

"He's pretty." She said letting her Uncle Thorin lift the squirming infant into his arms.

"You have to look after him, Karla." Her father reminded her, she nodded. She would. She'd always wanted a little sister – but Fíli would do.

He grew quickly and by the time five years had passed, Fíli was pining for another boy. When their mother informed them that she was carrying a new little brother or sister for them, both agreed it would be another boy. And when Kíli arrived it was Karla that held the tiny child at the right height for the two boys to see each other. Kíli didn't blow bubbles at them he stared up at them, the tuft of brown hair on his head was going to make him look like Uncle Thorin. But Kíli had brown eyes like mother. So maybe he looked more like mother.

"Do I have to do for Kíli all you do for me now?" Fíli asked, Karla laughed softly. Uncle Thorin took the tiny child from his niece's arms and she smiled at Fíli.

"No, not everything. I will take care of him also. You will help me? Ok?" Fíli nodded, he understood. It was going to be interesting to find out exactly how Fíli viewed 'looking after' Kíli after the first few days. Kíli was going to be noisy and take up a lot of attention. But would Fíli understand that? Karla sure hoped so, because she would need a lot of help. Mother would be sick for a few days, she'd have to get her strength up and Karla and Fíli would have to take care of Kíli, while father took care of mother. He adored his baby brother and he knew somehow that when they got older, he'd still look out for Kíli. He knew he'd have to. It was a feeling he had. How true it would prove to be.

* * *

**6 Years Later**

"Karla! Karla!" The cry made Karla get up from where she sat by the fire mending Kíli's winter cloak, he'd torn it the day before and now she was mending it for him. The door opened and Fíli came inside, Kíli by his side, Fíli was holding the smaller dwarf close to his side. Tears in Kíli's eyes, one arm held tightly to his chest the other clutched at Fíli's cloak. Karla put down her mending and swiftly pulled the small dwarf up into her arms. Karla was 8 years older than Fíli and much taller. She held Kíli easily off the ground. He clutched her dress with one of his hands the other was held tight to his chest.

"Kíli, what happened?" She asked taking him into the shared bedroom of the pair. Fíli watched from the doorway as Kíli sobbed into his sister's shoulder.

"Fíli? Do you want to tell me what happened?" she asked as she gently began to try and get Kíli to move his arm.

"He was being pushed around by some of the older kids." Fíli said, "I couldn't get through the crowd to him. They hurt his arm." Fíli crawled up to sit beside his brother on the bed. Karla had gently moved Kíli's arm away from his chest and looked at the bruising that beginning to blossom on Kíli's pale skin.

"I'm afraid it's broken my little archer." Karla said, Kíli looked positively hurt.

"Can I still practice?" He said wiping at his eyes.

"Not until it's healed. So not for a while." Karla said, and she knew how much this would hurt Kíli. He'd only been given his bow two months earlier and had been learning from Thorin the correct way to stand and how to shoot it properly. This would set the child back in his study of the weapon.

"I won't practice if Kíli cannot." Fíli said.

"No Fíli," Karla started, but Fíli cut her off.

"No. Karla, if Kíli cannot practice then neither will I." Fíli was firm; he'd make a good king one day. Karla nodded.

"Alright, Fíli. If Kíli cannot do archery than you will not practice either. I will make sure to tell Uncle when he returns from the forge." Karla said, as she wrapped up Kíli's arm, tight, but not too tight. She told him not to use it a lot and it should heal on its own. Karla told him that maybe he and Fíli could just play with the wooden figures their father had carved for them while she prepared dinner.

Karla being 8 years older than Fíli had been allowed to stay at home with the troublesome two while their Uncle Thorin worked at the forge. Karla knew that he worked long hours and often came home very tired, but somehow when Fíli and Kíli hung off him – he seemed to be full of energy again, often chasing Kíli around the house to put him to bed. Poor Kíli would need a bit of help whole his arm healed. But Karla knew, as she watched the pair play by the hearth, that Fíli would help Kíli anyway he could, because he was a big brother.

* * *

Karla looked up from mending Kíli cloak – again – this time to see Balin leading a sorry-looking Fíli inside by his ear, Kíli behind in Bofur's arms sobbing quietly.

"What happened?" Karla asked getting up and taking Kíli from Bofur, Balin turned to tell her after telling Fíli to go to his room.

"Kíli followed Fíli out to the training fields. His arm is healed, true enough, but Fíli told Kíli that he couldn't do sword fighting yet, which is true – Kíli argued that Fíli was his age when he started." Balin said.

"Fíli was 8…not seven." Karla said, the older dwarf nodded.

"Fíli and Kíli began arguing until it got a little out of hand. Kíli and Fíli were wrestling when one of the younglings came and told us. Thorin stayed at the forge because I hate to think what would have happened if he'd separated them." Bofur told her.

"I'd have two screaming children to deal with. Now, my little archer, are you hurt?" Kíli nodded and just snuggled back into his sister's shoulder, Karla sat down and settled him in her lap, "tell me what hurts, Kíli." She coaxed the child to telling her that his arm hurt and his ankle. She sat him up on the table and got him to show her his arm. There was a scratch on it, not too deep but red and angry. Karla told Kíli to wait a moment while she got what she needed but the child refused to let go. Karla lifted Kíli into her arms and thanked Balin and Bofur for bringing the boys to her. They bowed their heads and retreated back to the forge, to inform Thorin that Kíli and Fíli were now home again and Karla was looking after them.

Karla set Kíli down on the bench in the washroom and set about wetting a cloth to wash his arm off before she'd dress it, then she'd have a look at his ankle. She'd finished wrapping his ankle when a tap on the door made her turn, Fíli stood there rubbing at red puffy eyes. The child had been crying. He most likely thought he was in trouble.

"Fíli, go back to your room. I'll be in to see you in a moment." Karla said. The child stopped rubbing his eyes as they filled with new tears and he ran back to his room the door closed behind him. Karla picked up Kíli and took him to her room.

"You have a little rest in here all right? I'm going to go talk to Fíli and then I'll be back." Kíli nodded and lay back on her bed. Karla waited until his eyes closed before she left. She opened the door to the boys' room and her eyes fell on the form of Fíli lying down on Kíli's bed, not his own and was crying. She went over and sat down next to him. She rested her hand on his shoulder; he sat up and wrapped his arms around her neck.

"I'm sorry Karla! I didn't mean to hurt him!" Fíli said, "I didn't mean to honest!" Karla held the dwarfling to her chest and let him cry.

"It's all right, Fíli. I'm not angry. I'm just disappointed. Uncle may be angry. But I will tell him I had words with you and you made up with Kíli all right? Which you can do when I bring him in here soon." Fíli nodded. He knew that he had done something wrong and that he needed to understand it was wrong. He promised to never hurt Kíli again.

* * *

When Thorin came home from the forge that night, he looked almost murderous. Karla looked up from her sewing – Fíli cloak had been torn – and pushed a bowl of stew across the table so he could sit down and eat it.

"I've spoken to the boys. Fíli knows what he did was wrong. He'd been grounded for 5 weeks and he's made up with Kíli." Karla said absently knowing Thorin would have half a mind to tear Fíli a new one.

"Was Kíli badly hurt?" Thorin asked.

"No. A scraped arm and a sprained ankle." Karla said. Thorin nodded, "Uncle…Fíli didn't mean it. He just was a little over zealous." Thorin looked at her and gave her a small smile.

"I know. Balin told me." Thorin said.

Karla sighed, "I told Fíli I wasn't angry. Just disappointed and sometimes I think the fear of disappointing someone is worse than knowing you've made them angry." Thorin frowned, "if someone's angry at you they tell you or you'd get a spanking from your parents – or parental figure – and then you'd know. With disappointment it's shows in their eyes. And it hurts so much more to know that." Karla said, Thorin nodded, he too had been disappointed in Fíli but he knew disappointing him was nothing compared to disappointing their sister. To Fíli and Kíli, Karla was their world and to Karla, Fíli and Kíli were her everything. They were family. They were her baby brothers and she'd do anything and everything to keep them safe from harm.


End file.
